jpny01

Chopper is criminally underused. They could have had a third of this series focus on him and his father and it would have been really compelling. For me, the highlight of this episode was Perth's acting when Phuwin showed up - so good.

Also, Pond's wardrobe. I might have skipped this ep, but that motorcycle outfit...

I like the way you think.

I want uncle Kit to do villainous things to me all day. That man is so hot. I do think Chopper is also a good character and extremely well-acted.

Phuwin is actually a pretty good comic actor - FUTS was playing to his strengths - this is not.

Yes, they needed to flesh out that relationship to make this work. There's so much extraneous stuff they could have left out and focused on the characters. I can see what they were trying to do, but the execution is really off.

There is a lot of chemistry. It's like the way neon and helium interact.

There were a lot of strange pauses that were very unnatural. I think Phuwin and Pond were off this ep too, but the directing and editing might be partly to blame. That and the terrible dialog and absence of a plot.

I would drop it, but Perth & Chimon are in it, Phuwin and Pond take their clothes off constantly, and evil uncle is smoking hot, so I have no choice but to watch.

Because he's mature now and that means he has to walk very slowly and not react to anything.

So many people here really like this, including people whose opinions I have great respect for, but I'm completely at a loss.

If this show took itself less seriously, the totally bonkers plot might be fun, but it takes itself really, really seriously. Nueng's big slowmo entrance at the hotel was just an eyeroll, but then in the next scene when he does it again at school... why is a hotel billionaire who everyone is trying to kill going to high school? Why put everyone there in serious danger, and what's the point? Just homeschool or don't bother with school at all - or at least put it off until the danger is past. And what completely useless bodyguards don't notice someone stalking their charge for TWO WEEKS?!? As if a fabulously-dressed smoking-hot guy on a motorcycle wearing all black every day in high heat isn't noticeable or something.

The acting... BL acting is perhaps not where you find the greatest exemplars of the profession, but Perth's masterful performance in his confrontation with Nueng made the latter look comically stiff and out of his element. When Chopper spotted Nueng, a million intense emotions ran over his face in subtle expressions. When Nueng spotted Palm, zero. Then he got that weird "cry" look he gets. That confrontation at the derelict building was the cringiest thing I've seen in... well, maybe ever. Everything about it was awful, from the strange and unnatural pauses to the bad dialog to the unauthentic emotion. And where were the guards, and how did the guy with the camera get in? Jesus Christ, a few plot holes are OK, but it can't be every single thing that happens!

This next is not Phuwin's fault - it's the directing and acting coaching, but maturing is not walking in slow motion, speaking sternly in a deepened voice, or having an orchestral "mic drop" blast every time you say anything "weighty". It's how you behave and treat others. If anything Nueng's behavior is LESS mature now, not more. For example, his treatment of Chopper was both ungenerous and foolish, since he can be used against his father and alienating him may create another enemy.

I don't actually think Phuwin or Pond are terrible actors - they're OK. But they were substandard in this episode for some reason. Maybe it was the material.

So then why are his bodyguards to be trusted? And if they can be trusted, then why weren't they trustable before? There was no plan - it was just lazy writing to put them somewhere where they could frolic.

Amen! If people have to resort to lowered expectations to defend a series, it's probably not very good.

It has nothing to do with "toxic" relationships, which most people seem to define as one where the leads aren't farting rainbows and unicorns at each other. It's about good writing and acting. My School President doesn't have an ounce of toxicity and is much, much better than this series. Actually, the unecessary violence in this is one of the turnoffs, and shooting people is a bit more toxic than saying something mean to your boyfriend or even cheating on him. I'd rather someone cheat on me than gun down my parents.

Also, toxic or not: Buying sleeping pills from a sleezy hotel guy and spiking your boyfriend's drink with it? It depends on whether or not you think negligent homicide is toxic or not. What if it was tainted or he put too much in, or if after he left someone in the crime hotel decided to slit Palm's throat and steal all his stuff?

I wouldn't go THAT far. This has Perth & Chimon. Although Enchanté had naked Gawin...

It's not conveyed at all. What was the point of "hiding" at a beach resort when Nueng had an army of guards at his disposal?

Eclipse had people behave like people, i.e. their emotions made sense. If their parents were gunned down in front of them, they didn't go to a beach resort and frolic and claim to be happier than they've ever been. The stupid plots are overlookable - it doesn't matter how crazy the setup, be it one of them is dead, or lives in a different century than the other, or is an alien - it's all good. But people still have to be relatable and act like people. Eclipse was also thoroughly well-acted.

KP was also different because it was totally nuts, campy, and didn't take itself seriously, and wasn't full of cringey and endless scenes like Nueng talking to his mother in a coma, nor was it stuffed to the gills with cliches.

Tomorrow (Feb 14), but I have no idea if it will be available for Int'l fans or have subtitles. The trailer did, but the teaser for Ep 1 did not.

Yup - the "so bad it's good" phenomenon.

I really like Bank and Earth - I'm looking forward to this. For once the main couple looks more compelling than the secondary couple!